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    GAME NARRATIVE

The Game Narrative Summit is new to the GDC after seven years at GDC Online in Austin. It covers interactive narrative in all its forms, from AAA blockbusters to indie games to transmedia projects. The event features an all-star lineup of speakers from every corner of the discipline, with session content ranging from the advanced and theoretical to hands-on workshops for writers, designers and others seeking to hone their skills. We hope the Game Narrative Summit will attract attendees from all over the world with a passionate interest in the ongoing evolution of interactive storytelling as a driving force in the future of entertainment.

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2013 HIGHLIGHTED SESSIONS

Seven (Or So) Techniques for Writing a Moral Game
Richard Rouse III (Microsoft Game Studios)
 
Writers have wanted a strong moral component to game stories for almost as long as digital games have existed. Yet, it is easy to veer too far to one extreme and become tedious and pedantic, or lean too far in the other direction and have players miss your moral themes entirely. This talk follows up on the inspirational GDC talk, "Seven Ways a Video Game Can Be Moral," and lays out the nuts and bolts on how to write moral stories for games. The talk will pull examples from some of the best moral storytelling games, and look at the successes and failures of the speaker's own projects.

GAME NARRATIVE SUMMIT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Tom Abernathy
Microsoft Studios
 
Tom Abernathy is a narrative designer at Microsoft Studios, where his most recent release is KINECT RUSH: A DISNEY/PIXAR ADVENTURE. Other game credits include HALO: REACH, THE SABOTEUR, CRIMSON ALLIANCE and numerous award nominations for his work on DESTROY ALL HUMANS! and DESTROY ALL HUMANS! 2. In 2009 he was honored as one of "The Gamasutra 20: Top Game Writers" by Gamasutra.com. A graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, he has worked for nearly thirty years as a professional writer, filmmaker, theater director, actor, composer and musician, including fourteen years in games as a writer/designer and VO/cinematic director. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in Seattle, where he is undergoing treatment for seasonal affective disorder. You can read his intemperate and ill-advised rants on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomabernathy.
Lev Chapelsky
Blindlight
 
Lev Chapelsky is a founding partner and general manager for Blindlight, a Hollywood-based production services company that works exclusively for the videogame industry, providing game producers with consultative advice on working with outsource talent and production resources, as well as a full-service producer of outsourced project work. Blindlight's core service disciplines include story development, script writing, celebrity acquisition, and voiceover production.

Since its founding in 2000, Blindlight has earned over 200 game credits and its client list has grown to include 19 of the top 20 game publishers. Blindlight continues to work as part of the extended development teams on original game properties including the HALO, SPLINTER CELL, ELDER SCROLLS, FALLOUT, DOOM, KILLZONE and GUILD WARS franchises, as well as on dozens of film and TV licensed properties. Lev holds a B.F.A. degree from Notre Dame, an M.B.A. from UCLA, and a degree in International Business Management from The Stockholm School of Economics.
Richard Dansky
Ubisoft/Red Storm
 
As Central Clancy Writer, Richard has been with Red Storm/Ubisoft for over a decade. He has worked on games in series such as SPLINTER CELL, GHOST RECON, RAINBOW SIX, FAR CRY, and MIGHT AND MAGIC, among others. An executive of the IGDA Writers' Special Interest Group, Richard is the author of the critically acclaimed novel FIREFLY RAIN. He has also contributed to numerous books on games and game design, including the award-winning HOBBY GAMES: THE 100 BEST. Previously, Richard wrote four novels and worked on more than a hundred role-playing game books for White Wolf Game Studios. His published work also includes short fiction as well as literary criticism, book and music reviews, humor, and a brief stint as the world's greatest authority on Denebian Slime Devils. He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife Melinda Thielbar and their inevitable cats. You can find him online at http://www.richarddansky.com.
Mary DeMarle
Eidos Montreal
 
Mary DeMarle has worked in the game industry as both a freelance contract writer and full-time narrative game designer/writer for over 15 years. Her work has crossed genres and play styles, and includes such award-winning titles as Deus Ex: Human Revolution; Homeworld II; Myst III: Exile and Myst IV: Revelation; Dungeon Siege: Broken Sword; and the Splinter Cell license. She is currently working as Eidos Montreal's narrative director.
Susan O'Connor
Susan O'Connor Writing Studio
 
Susan O'Connor is an award-winning writer who creates worlds, plots, characters and scripts for video games. She has contributed to first-person shooters, action-adventure titles, RTS, RPGs and open-world games in a variety of genres, including sci-fi, fantasy, horror, action, thriller, mystery and crime. Titles in her portfolio have sold over ten million copies and generated over half a billion dollars in sales. She founded the Game Writers Conference, now part of GDC Online. In 2008, she was co-recipient of GDC's "Best Writing" award, for BioShock. In 2009, Gamasutra named her as one of the top writers working in the videogame industry today.

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